Lexi held her breath as the men flipped through the pages, waiting for some sort of reaction. When she saw Julian’s head bob up and down, she cast an encouraging smile to Vincent, who also watched the men, no doubt taking note of each subtle body movement. Julian and Sal huddled together for a second, pointing back and forth on one another’s papers, but their facial expressions were impossible to read.
Julian set his papers down on the table and leaned back in his chair, his fingers locked behind his head. Casually he said, “All right, Vince, impress me.”
Vincent’s presentation was pure magic. He spoke with confidence and personality. Julian and his entourage sat quietly as Vincent gave the presentation, never taking their eyes off of him. They occasionally leaned forward in their chairs, most often to get a better view when Vincent went over the artwork for the print ads. Julian brought up a concern about getting the licenses to use the covers, and Vincent quickly extinguished it when he proudly shared that he had already taken care of the licensure and permissions for any albums used in this presentation. Peter, who had been very quiet up until then, murmured his approval.
Lexi was amazed with the presentation and was certain she had a goofy, adoring grin on her face the entire time. Vincent was so personable and charming that she couldn’t take her eyes off him. It was as if he was speaking directly to each individual in the room. The few times his eyes sought her out and lingered, Lexi’s blood raced through her veins. She would give him an encouraging smile, letting him know he was on the right track.
The gorgeous smile that resulted on his face each time made Lexi’s stomach flip with excitement.
As the presentation wrapped up, Julian remained eerily quiet. He looked repeatedly from Vincent to the papers in front of him, saying nothing.
Finally, he glanced over at Peter, and then spoke. “I don’t like it.”
Vincent remained stoic at the front of the room, not letting Julian see any visible reaction to his words. Lexi’s heart sank, but she took Vincent’s lead and remained expressionless.
“What are you concerned about?” Vincent asked.
“I think people are going to find the old and new mix lame. Right now, it’s all about being hot or a trendsetter,” Sal offered, Julian’s head nodding in agreement.
“I disagree,” Vincent said, his voice firm and unwavering. “There are so many people who know nothing about fashion. They buy a head-to-toe look
from a design house and think that just because they are decked out in a label, they are fashion forward, when really, they all look cookie cutter.”
Lexi held her breath as Julian shifted in his seat. “I get what you’re trying to do, Vince. But I’m the designer. I made the clothes. I decided which pieces went together to make the looks. No offense, but what do you know about designing a line? And in essence, that’s what you’ve done, redesigned my entire line.”
“The pieces in your collection are incredibly strong, each one being able to stand on its own and make a statement.” Vincent glanced again at Lexi for reassurance that he was on the right track.
“I agree,” Lexi chimed in. “I’m certain when you designed the line originally, a number of these pieces were put together differently in the planning stages. Then as things began to take shape, you saw that this top worked better with this pair of pants, or this shirt paired with this jacket was better. You’re known for the versatility of your line, and the pieces mix beautifully within your label and outside of it.”
Vincent jumped back into the conversation. “That’s what we want to showcase, the way your line has a timeless, classic edge to it. So many designers are trend motivated, but you aren’t. Your line is a new take on a classic, and by encouraging people to pair it with what they already have and love, it makes it far more marketable to a wider cross section of the population.”
Lexi and Vincent held their breath as Julian silently sat in his chair, digesting all that had been thrown at him. The two exchanged a silent dialogue, Vincent shrugging, indicating his uncertainty, Lexi nodding, letting him know that she believed in him.
Julian pushed the presentation papers away from him and toward the center of the table. “Well, this meeting is over.” He stood up, Sal and Peter following suit, and moved toward the door. He peeked over his shoulder and added with a grin, “I like your backbone, Vince, and I love the idea. i just wanted to see how vigorously you would defend it. I’m sold. Let’s celebrate Hunter getting the account with a quick game of two-on-two. The suit better not slow you down, Drake.”
Lexi knew Vincent couldn’t visibly cheer to celebrate the win. He had to keep his composure no matter how badly he wanted to pump his fist into the air. So instead, he reached out to the one person with whom he wouldn’t have to use words to communicate, the one person who knew how much this meant to him, and squeezed her hand with all his might. The firm squeeze he got back from Lexi’s trembling hand made him smile. She had been just as nervous as he was, and yet she followed his lead, kept her cool, and defended their idea magnificently. They were a great team.
An hour later, after the most argued game of two-on-two in history, Lexi and Vincent were finally ready to leave Julian’s place. “I’ll call you next week, Christina,” Lexi called over her shoulder as they walked out of the studio.
As Vincent slid beside her in the Lotus, Lexi couldn’t keep still. “Are we clear?” she asked when they were half a block down the road.
“Yep.”
“We did it!” Lexi screamed in the car, feet pounding on the floor in celebration. Vincent joined in her excitement and high fived her repeatedly. “Oh my God, I almost passed out when he said he didn’t like it, but then you went into our motivation and I knew we had him. I know this probably sounds lame, but I’m so proud of you, Vincent. You really were amazing in there.” When she stopped talking, she realized that her hands were wrapped around his arm, her smiling face within inches of his in the cramped space of the car. Still giddy, she gave his arm an excited shake, then sat back
in her seat and let it all sink in. Julian Stone had liked their campaign enough to hire them on the spot.
Vincent reached over and laced his fingers with hers. The two sat there in a very comfortable silence, each reliving the high points of the day in their head. When Vincent began rubbing gentle circles along Lexi’s hand, she turned her head toward him and smiled.